[T]he aſſwagement of his [a wise man's] diſcontent conſiſts in two things, formerly preſcribed as remedies againſt corporeall pain; viz. Diverſion of his thoughts from his loſſe, or the cause of it; and an application of them to thoſe things, which he knowes to be gratefull and pleaſant to his mind.

In the context of impending martyrdom, the beauty of Thecla’s virgin body connotes dynamis owing less to the eros she evokes and more to the chastity, piety, and resistance she promotes.⁶⁹ That Thecla is also an object of erotic desire, however, is evidenced in men's reactions to her.

[…]and also by all accounts of the surplus which shall from time to time be settled between the new company and the liquidators of the old company[…]

[…] we, poor unfledged, Have never wing’d from view o’ the nest, nor know not What air’s from home.